No, other people cannot see the videos in your private YouTube playlists. Making a playlist private in YouTube prevents anyone else from viewing the videos within it. Private playlists are only visible to your account.
What Makes a YouTube Playlist Private?
YouTube allows users to create public playlists that are viewable and searchable by anyone, as well as private playlists that only you can access. When creating a new playlist, you have the option to make it public, private, or unlisted.
- Public playlists are fully visible to all YouTube users.
- Private playlists can only be seen by your account.
- Unlisted playlists are not publicly searchable but can be shared via a direct link.
Private YouTube playlists are completely hidden from other accounts. Other users cannot find or view any of the videos in a private playlist through YouTube searches, your channel page, or direct URL without being signed into the owner account.
Benefits of Private YouTube Playlists
Here are some reasons you may want to make some of your YouTube playlists private:
- Keep videos hidden – Make playlists private to store videos you want to keep private, such as personal videos.
- Organize videos – Use private playlists to organize videos just for your own reference or entertainment.
- Control sharing – Share private playlists selectively by sending direct links rather than making them public.
- Prevent spoilers – Keep playlists for upcoming projects private until you’re ready to release them.
How to Make a YouTube Playlist Private
You can easily make a new or existing YouTube playlist private in just a few steps:
- Go to YouTube and sign into your account.
- Navigate to your Playlists page.
- Click on the playlist you want to make private.
- Open the dropdown menu next to the playlist name.
- Select “Private” and click Save.
The playlist privacy will now be switched to Private. Other accounts will no longer be able to find or access this playlist.
Changing Playlist Privacy Settings
You can change the privacy settings of your YouTube playlists at any time:
- To make a playlist public, edit the playlist and change the privacy to “Public.”
- To switch a public playlist to private, edit the privacy to “Private.”
- To change a private playlist to unlisted, choose “Unlisted” instead.
Changing the privacy will update which accounts can view and access the playlist accordingly.
Who Can See Your Private Playlists?
Private YouTube playlists are restricted so that only you can see them while signed in to your account. However, there are a couple exceptions:
- You – You can always view and edit your private playlists while signed in.
- Managers – If you grant other accounts manager access, they can also fully access private playlists.
- Shared Links – Anyone with a direct link to a private playlist can view it.
So you will want to be careful about sharing direct links if you want a playlist to remain completely private.
Using Private Playlists for Organization
One of the main reasons people create private YouTube playlists is simply to organize videos for themselves. This allows you to create playlists tailored to your interests without making them public.
Some examples of private organizational playlists:
- Playlists for different moods or genres of music
- Playlists of videos to watch later
- Playlists to save instructions or tutorials
- Playlists to group videos related to specific topics or interests
Using private playlists is helpful for categorizing videos just for your own personal convenience. They also allow you to store videos that you may not necessarily want to make public.
Storing Private Videos in Playlists
In addition to organizational playlists, users often create private YouTube playlists to store personal, private videos.
Some examples of videos you may want to keep private:
- Personal family videos
- Videos shot exclusively for close friends or family
- Sensitive or confidential videos
- Old videos you no longer want public but want to retain access to
- Videos containing private information
Keeping these types of personal videos in private playlists ensures that they remain hidden from public searches and views. Only your account will be able to watch them.
Sharing Private Playlists Selectively
While other accounts cannot find or access your private YouTube playlists, you can still share them selectively by sending private playlist links. This allows you to grant playlist access to certain people without making the full playlist public.
To share a private playlist privately:
- Open the share options on your private playlist.
- Check the box to share your playlist privately.
- Copy the playlist link.
- Send the link directly to the people you want to grant access to.
Anyone with the private playlist link will be able to view the playlist. But it will not be discoverable to other YouTube users through searches or your channel.
Downsides of Private YouTube Playlists
While private playlists allow you to control access to videos, there are some downsides to weigh:
- You lose the ability to share playlists publicly.
- Videos in private playlists will not contribute to your overall channel views.
- Others cannot discover your playlists organically or subscribe to future updates.
So you may still want to keep some playlists public if you are looking to grow an audience and following on YouTube.
Other YouTube Privacy Options
In addition to private playlists, YouTube offers other privacy controls including:
- Private videos – You can make individual videos private in addition to full playlists.
- Unlisted videos – Unlisted videos are hidden from YouTube searches but can be shared via links.
- Removal requests – You can request removal of reuploads of your private videos.
- Restricted Mode – This optional setting helps filter more mature content.
Using a combination of YouTube’s privacy features allows you to control your content sharing how you see fit.
Best Practices for Private Playlists
Here are some best practices for using YouTube’s private playlist feature:
- Double check playlist privacy settings before publishing.
- Be cautious when sharing direct private playlist links.
- Create organizational playlists to categorize videos for yourself.
- Use private playlists to store sensitive, personal, or private videos.
- Change playlist privacy settings as needs evolve.
- Leverage other privacy tools like unlisted videos and Restricted Mode.
- Keep YouTube’s requirements in mind regarding privacy complaints.
Following these tips will help ensure your private YouTube playlists remain private and hidden as intended.